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mail, docs, drive et al ... they created them to _open a new market_ for advertising This seems obviously false. Google clearly monetizes gsuite as a paid serv

mail, docs, drive et al ... they created them to _open a new market_ for advertising This seems obviously false. Google clearly monetizes gsuite as a paid service, and "everyone uses the same service at home that they do at work" has clear advantages, whether or not there is advertising in your gmail. Advertising in (consumer) gmail came long after paid gsuite (or "google apps for domains", as they called it then - horrible).

realityking 6y ago
> Advertising in (consumer) gmail came long after paid gsuite This is clearly false. The screenshots in this Time article show gmail having advertising from day one. https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/ https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/
- techsupporter 6y ago
  Completely accurate. The ads were even touted as somewhat of a feature. Something along the lines of "Gmail has ads, just like the other services, but our ads will be relevant to your interests."
- Spooky23 6y ago
  It’s accurate and inaccurate. Ads were there but many users saw none for a long time. IMO ads were a distraction to enable the data harvesting, which drove Adsense targeting. Even today, the ads I see on GMail are pretty low quality. Some lovelorn guy used my email address unintentionally to sign up for a 55+ dating site 3 years ago. The most targeted ads I get are for similar sites. Of course YMMV.
  - lozenge 6y ago
    They actually stopped targeting by email contents a while back https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/google-gmail-ads-emails-1202477321/ https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/google-gmail-ads-email...
- thegagne 6y ago
  My early adopter google apps account is still free and has no ads.
dleslie 6y ago
When using GSuite it is used in a browser, and this is key to the Google strategy. The goal is to get more users spending more time in their browsers, in order to funnel them to Google Ads and to serve Google their browsing data. GSuite exists, at least in part, to break down the model of the walled corporate intranet. There are just too many people behind the corporate veil to ignore; and as a bonus, the browsing and cloud app usage habits they develop at work will tend to translate to their usage habits at home. Also, as noted by another responder, GMail has had ads since launch. I was a beta user from day 1, and I recall the ads. Edit: worth noting the historical difficulty of getting open source software into the business environment because corporate purchasers were wary of anything that was "free"; putting a price on something makes it more palatable to corporate adoption.
skinnymuch 6y ago
I can’t imagine that being true. Gmail had “relevant” ads based off their other ad tech from the get go. That was a point vs other majors having banner ads.
WoodenChair 6y ago
> This seems obviously false. Google clearly monetizes gsuite It's not obviously false when advertising makes up something like 80%+ of their revenue: https://theatlas.com/charts/n8ea9MPE0 https://theatlas.com/charts/n8ea9MPE0
addicted 6y ago
Gmail very quickly introduced advertising in your mailbox. There was a huge outcry because they would scan your mails to provide contextual advertising. This was before other GSuite components even existed.

realityking 6y ago

> Advertising in (consumer) gmail came long after paid gsuite This is clearly false. The screenshots in this Time article show gmail having advertising from day one. https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/ https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/

techsupporter 6y ago
Completely accurate. The ads were even touted as somewhat of a feature. Something along the lines of "Gmail has ads, just like the other services, but our ads will be relevant to your interests."
Spooky23 6y ago
It’s accurate and inaccurate. Ads were there but many users saw none for a long time. IMO ads were a distraction to enable the data harvesting, which drove Adsense targeting. Even today, the ads I see on GMail are pretty low quality. Some lovelorn guy used my email address unintentionally to sign up for a 55+ dating site 3 years ago. The most targeted ads I get are for similar sites. Of course YMMV.
- lozenge 6y ago
  They actually stopped targeting by email contents a while back https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/google-gmail-ads-emails-1202477321/ https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/google-gmail-ads-email...
thegagne 6y ago
My early adopter google apps account is still free and has no ads.

dleslie 6y ago

When using GSuite it is used in a browser, and this is key to the Google strategy. The goal is to get more users spending more time in their browsers, in order to funnel them to Google Ads and to serve Google their browsing data. GSuite exists, at least in part, to break down the model of the walled corporate intranet. There are just too many people behind the corporate veil to ignore; and as a bonus, the browsing and cloud app usage habits they develop at work will tend to translate to their usage habits at home. Also, as noted by another responder, GMail has had ads since launch. I was a beta user from day 1, and I recall the ads. Edit: worth noting the historical difficulty of getting open source software into the business environment because corporate purchasers were wary of anything that was "free"; putting a price on something makes it more palatable to corporate adoption.

skinnymuch 6y ago

I can’t imagine that being true. Gmail had “relevant” ads based off their other ad tech from the get go. That was a point vs other majors having banner ads.

WoodenChair 6y ago

> This seems obviously false. Google clearly monetizes gsuite It's not obviously false when advertising makes up something like 80%+ of their revenue: https://theatlas.com/charts/n8ea9MPE0 https://theatlas.com/charts/n8ea9MPE0

addicted 6y ago

Gmail very quickly introduced advertising in your mailbox. There was a huge outcry because they would scan your mails to provide contextual advertising. This was before other GSuite components even existed.